I have a ford expedition 2001 with about 250K miles on it. A fantastic vehicle. However every time I go for inspection it costs me a couple of grand (last couple of years). This time I did not have the money to spend on it so returned the plates and it has been sitting on my driveway for last 2 months. I hate to give it away to a dump because I feel the car is not dead yet as other than inspection issue it drives great before i returned the plates that is.
I am an utter newbie when it comes to car repair. So the question is can I do something about it? or should I just give it away.
Someone mentioned a computer which will do the diagnosis and I can buy it from Radio Shack? or Pep Boys and reset the "Warnings" and then get it inspected? Is that doable? I love my truck and hate to lose it if there is something possible to save it.
Thanks in advance for your advice/suggestions/recommendations.

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It is impossible to answer this without knowing what is causing it to fail. You can get an OBD2 reader to identify the error codes, and many of them you can fix yourself (e.g. changing a sensor, or replacing another part that is causing and error), which can save you a huge amount of money in Labour charges
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Nick CMar 3 '14 at 10:35

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There are far too many bits of information needed here, and even if we had all the diagnosis information it would still come down to an opinion. Some people have cars that cost more each year than their value, but they keep maintaining them. Others ditch theirs at the first sign of trouble.

You must remember though, that the inspection is very important - if the car is unsafe, it doesn't matter if you think it drives great. It could kill you, or others.

What you want to do is take it to a garage, get them to give you a full quote for repair and warranty, plus a realistic expectation of costs over next couple of years, and then you can work out whether that is a net positive or negative.

Rory, I agree with you that driving a car that is not safe to drive is advisable. But I guess I doubt it is unsafe especially because a computer sensor(s) say it is. Been in the industry (computers) a bit too long to know not to trust them beyond your instincts. I did get an estimate last year of 2500 and got the work done and was told this should not give you any issues for the next 5 years or so. Well the engine light came on in a few weeks. This year I took it back to the same garage and the guy wanted another couple of grand and that is when I thought he is just milking me. :)
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MohinderMar 3 '14 at 5:48